


The Second Day of the Rest of Their Lives

by crowby



Category: Good Omens (TV), Good Omens - Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff and Angst, Light Angst, M/M, slight mention of past trauma, their relationship can be viewed as platonic or romantic, vent art?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 18:53:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26662498
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crowby/pseuds/crowby
Summary: Now with the world saved and Aziraphale being on his own side with Crowley, our angel has a lot to think about.
Relationships: Aziraphale & Crowley (Good Omens), Aziraphale/Crowley (Good Omens)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 26





	The Second Day of the Rest of Their Lives

**Author's Note:**

> this is inspired by recent events with me leaving my abusive household. so this is more of a vent and i’m sorry about that.

It had been exactly two days after Armageddon was averted. The world moved on as though nothing had happened, Heaven and Hell were fooled enough to stay out of our heros business, and the weight of everything that had transpired finally hit Aziraphale like a ton of bricks.

The angel was not much for sleep, so after his lovely dinner with Crowley and a few shared drinks at the bookshop, he had simply conjured a place for Crowley to rest for the night and took to reading as usual. But as night slowly came to dawn, the realization of what Aziraphale had done came over him. Stopping the apocalypse, fooling his former bosses and now being on his own side with Crowley. Aziraphale felt guilty over the fact that now he felt free.

He set his book down, having had enough of trying to read the same paragraph while his mind was racing. He didn’t stare much at anything, deciding to just look out the window at the soft blues and yellows of the early morning sky. Aziraphale was quickly lost in thought as he was trying to comprehend his emotions.

He was free. Free from his bosses, well now former bosses, and all of Heaven’s rules and restrictions. He felt for so long that he had to keep things under wraps, not upset any order and do what he could while trying to get away with a small deed every now and again. Even all these years with Crowley and making the excuse of trying to stop his evil deeds still made Aziraphale have to carefully tip-toe around.

It was exhausting to try and please his superiors while also trying to fulfil his own wants and needs. He wanted to do simple random acts of kindness, such as anonymously giving a large lump sum of money to a charity. Maybe even miracling just one extra spot at the local homeless shelter for the homeless man down the block. Of course he wasn’t allowed to simply do good for the sake of it, that’s how he landed in the Bastille. He learned his lesson then.

Now things were different. Now Aziraphale could do those things and maybe even more. Maybe even miracle things just for himself. He felt a bit giddy over the fact he could conjure hot cocoa without being reprimanded anymore. He could be with Crowley without fear of either of them getting hurt. He could have the opportunity to live how he wanted. 

Then the shame set in. The shame of being happy that he turned his back on the only way of life he knew. His own family in a sense. He betrayed them. Yes, he was free, but he was also alone now. Yes, he had Crowley, but Aziraphale was sure that the demon wanted to go off to enjoy his own freedom as well. No one was making the decisions for Aziraphale anymore, he was making his own. That terrified him.

He feared without those rules he would make the wrong choice. Ironic as he always looked for loopholes within those rules, but they always provided a structure for him. They gave him some stability, but now? How would he tell what was good from bad? What if some of the good he was doing was actually causing someone to get hurt? What if he could be doing good now but was wasting his opportunities sitting in his bookshop like a fool? 

Aziraphale put his book down on the nearest table and rubbed his eyes a bit. He was so sure that things would be easier now that he was on his own side but now it just felt twice as hard. He didn’t want to make any poor decisions or hurt anyone else. He just wanted to be happy.

He felt exhausted as he rested his head on the back of the chair and let his hands rest on the arms. He felt so drained, emotionally and physically. Maybe he would try sleeping for once, but knew it wouldn’t fix this. For eleven years he had been bracing himself constantly. That was a lie, as he had been bracing himself constantly for centuries. But everything came to a point last week. Now the dust had settled and the air was clear, Aziraphale could finally see. He could finally breathe normally without being told it was wrong to do so.

He felt tears in his eyes. He was unsure if it was relief or sadness but the angel could hardly care at this point. He wanted to be happy. He wanted to live a fairly normal life with his books and tea. He wanted to simply go to his favorite restaurants and enjoy himself, in his own time. He wanted to just do good for the humans he so dearly cared about. He wanted Crowley to be there with him while he did all of it. Aziraphale would never force him to do any of those things or to even stay. He thought of maybe convincing the demon to tag along if he so pleased.

The sun had risen above the horizon and shined brightly in the clear, blue sky. Light shined through the shop windows, illuminating dancing dust particles and painting the rooms in a warm orange glow. There was the muffled noise of birds chirping and people going about their morning on their daily routine. The world was waking up, including a snake-like demon who was groggily stepping out of the back room of the bookshop.

Aziraphale wasn’t paying much attention to what Crowley was saying, catching bits and pieces while he hastily wiped his tears away. This caught the demons attention and he slowly crept up to his angelic friend.

“You okay?” Crowley asked as he came up next to the old armchair. 

Aziraphale quickly stood and nodded his head, letting go of a breath he had no idea he was holding as he straightened himself out. The red head didn’t like the answer he was given, instead stepping closer and cupping Aziraphale’s cheek. The angel tensed as he looked up at his companion.

“You sure, angel?” 

That broke him. Tears started to well up again and Aziraphale brought Crowley into a tight hug. The demon was very unsure what was happening or how to properly respond for a split second. Very soon he hugged the angel back in just as tight of a hug, feeling the poor man shake like a leaf. Crowley softly spoke to him, giving him words of reassurance.

Aziraphale interrupted him with a meek little reply.  
“Please… stay one more night..?”

“Of course, I’ll stay as many nights as you want.”

Aziraphale tried to apologize but Crowley smothered his words with the hug. Aziraphale didn’t know it yet, but Crowley would happily stay with him for eternity if he was allowed to. Crowley didn’t know it yet, but Aziraphale would let him do just that.

**Author's Note:**

> like i mentioned before, i left my abusive household and i am currently in a shelter. i’m safe and okay. 
> 
> if you would like to help i take commissions. please don’t feel forced to do so. 
> 
> my tumblr is discoinfernocrowby
> 
> and my ko-fi is ko-fi.com/crowby


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